In Past Show

About Judy Kensley McKie

Through playful, sculptural furniture that is distinctly carved and painted in animal forms, Judy Kensley McKie has become a prominent figure in the American studio furniture movement. McKie began making furniture in the early 1970s following completion of her painting degree at the Rhode Island School of Design; although her designs are informed by formal training as an artist, she is essentially self-taught as a craftsman. In her animal motifs, McKie makes reference to the design of indigenous cultures and primitive, totemic animals of Precolumbian, African, and Native American art, which are either carved into the wood or painted upon the surface. McKie strives to create furniture that is not only sculptural, but functional as well; her decorative furniture, which is often cast in bronze, marble, resin, and stone, functions as both an artistic form and a useful piece of furniture.